Space Station Crew Wraps Up Busy Week of Science

Image: Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson works with the temporary sleep station in the Destiny lab of the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV

The International Space Station continued to perform well Friday as the Expedition 16 crew wrapped up a productive week filled with science experiments and station maintenance.

All three crew members--Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani--began Friday morning with a routine inspection of their orbital home, followed by the collection of their body mass measurements.

Later, Whitson and Tani uninstalled the temporary sleep station rack to access the last two of five faulty remote power control modules scheduled for replacement this week. After a break for lunch, Whitson replaced the modules, and Tani assisted her in setting the sleep station back up.

Tani joined Malenchenko to continue unloading and inventorying supplies that arrived aboard the ISS Progress 27 cargo craft on Dec. 26. Progress 27 will undock from the station on Feb. 4 to make way for the arrival of Progress 28 on Feb. 7.

The crew completed another successful week of science aboard the orbital outpost. Highlights included multiple sessions with the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2 (InSPACE-2) experiment. InSPACE obtains data on fluids that change properties in response to magnetic fields that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems and robotics. The crew also worked with the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 3 (BCAT-3) experiment, which studies tiny nanoscale spheres suspended in liquid to help scientists develop fundamental physics concepts previously cloaked by the effects of gravity.

During the week, the crew also prepared spacesuits and participated in a conference with personnel at Mission Control in Houston to review procedures for the spacewalk set for Jan 30. During that excursion, Whitson and Tani will maneuver along the station's starboard truss to the 1A Solar Array Beta Gimbal Assembly and replace a Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module.